Wood Pallet Map Tutorial

02/20/2013

Several of you requested the tutorial for the wood pallet map we made for my son’s room that I shared with you the other day. This was a super simple project and cost literally nothing for us other than the cost of the map. You can’t beat that now can you?

First of all we picked up some pallets for FREE at our local nursery. They will allow you to take up to 8 pallets before they charge. Score!

Then comes the tough part. These pallets have some serious nails holding them together. It takes some serious muscle strength to get these planks off. We ended up cutting off the two ends right up to the nails and then just pulling out the middle nails.

Then I took a heavy duty file and sanded down the edges and the rough spots of each plank.

Make sure you have enough pallets to have a bit of overhang on the map so you can see your pallet wood. It gives it an antiqued look. You can cut your map down a bit so that it fits better too, which is what we did.

We connected the pallet planks together with a piece of plywood on the back and then glued them into place with Gorilla Wood Glue (my favorite wood glue).

We found our map on Amazon for a $1! They had a few different styles and we went for a more Old World look.

Trim around the edges in a non-patterned way to give it a more worn look without crisp clean edges.

Then take a candle and burn the map around the edges. We did this outside and had a pitcher of water on hand….just in case.

We burnt the map all around the edges and then even burnt some holes in the middle of the map in some of the less prominent areas on the map.

Lay your map onto the wood pallets. This next part you will need and Exact-o Knife to cut the map into long strips. Now I debated about cutting the map, but I wanted the individual wood planks to show through and give some detail to the map. I was worried that if I just Mod Podged the map without cutting it, it would just be a flat map.

I am SO glad I decided to cut the map. It added so much more detail and un-perfectness to the overall look.

We recruited the kids to help us hold the map into place while we cut it. We did not want it to move at all and mess up the cut.

We cut the map one section at a time. When we had a new strip, we Mod Podged it onto the individual plank.

We purposely left a small space between each plank.

After all the strips were glued onto the pallets, we let it dry completely. Then we put two coats of water-based polycrylic in a satin finish on the map to keep it nice and protected.

I LOVE it! And so does my son! He wants to pin the places he has been to on this map as well. What do you think?

I was inspired to make this map when I came across this image (below) on Pinterest. I searched all over to find the original source of the map so I could link back and give credit to who made this and I could not for the life of me find out where it is from.

My search led me to believe that it may have been sold at Hobby Lobby a while ago. If anyone knows where I can find the original site for this I would love to know so I can give them credit and a link!

About Amy

Amy Huntley is the owner/author of The Idea Room. A mother of five, who enjoys sharing her love of all things creative in hopes of inspiring other women and families. Connect with her on Google+, or read more of her posts.

Comments

This is SO awesome, Amy! I love DIY projects that you could gift to a boy/man. Really cool ones are hard to find and this is one of the coolest pallet art projects I’ve seen. I especially love the holes you burned in the middle and cutting it into strips definitely lends to the aged look. Too cool!

My husband loves maps and I want to make this for him for Christmas. I was looking at maps on Amazon and most of them are printed on glossy poster paper. Is that what you used or should I try to find one printed on regular paper?

This is fabulous! And kudos to you for trying hard to find the original source. I love the look of this.. I’ve been thinking about doing maps and globes in the play room.. This would be great! We have lots of new construction around here so there are pallets in the dumpsters all the time! The workers just laugh at me when I ask for some :)

haha! I love that! Way to go finding all sorts of good uses for those old pallets! I laughed when I read this cause I can totally relate to getting strange looks when I salvage something to re-purpose it!

it looks awesome!!! I love that the pallet was free and you found the map for a buck, wow!!! I came over from TT&J. Would love for you to come over and check out my blog…
Emily @ http://www.nap-timecreations.com

Thank you so much for posting this tutorial!! This is exactly what I want to do in my boys new room. I already ordered the poster & can’t wait to get started. Now to figure out how to incorporate the license plate art I have rolling around in my brain.

The original was sold at Hobby Lobby. My mother and I both fell in love with it in the Fall but neglected to snatch it up before most stores were sold out. After searching several stores, my mom was finally able to locate two, one for each of us, in a clearance section last December. But I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your version! Great job!!

This is fantastic- thanks so much for sharing! We’ve been looking for the perfect rustic map focal piece for one of our walls… but weren’t willing to pay the $100+ we’ve been finding! I was so inspired by this tutorial, I’ve already run over to amazon to order my own map, now just to hunt down some pallets!

So glad you loved it. Good luck finding some pallets. Hopefully you can find some free ones. I think they are pretty easy to find if you ask around as most big companies have some laying around. I would love to see it if you don’t mind sharing it. I love to see the projects you guys end up making!!

I LOVE this Amy!! I was sitting here looking at it when my son walked by…he LOVED it and wants me to make him one to put in his barracks ……he is leaving for the Navy next month and wants to be able to put this on his wall and put pins in for every place he visits……thank you SO much for the tutorial! It’s awesome!!

Hi Amy, quick Question…. I tried a map project that was like this but on canvas. When I tried to mod podge the map, it bubbled badly. Do you have any tips that i can try to avoid the bubbles. Your map looks so smooth!

Great question. We made sure to put it on one strip at a time. We had a few helpers and then we just made sure to rub it outwards to push out any bubbles as we went. Then we went over it a couple of times to make sure there were no bubbles while it was still wet. It took a while but with the map in smaller strips we were able to get most of the bubbles out. Hope that helps!

This is a great project. Thank you for sharing and thank the person that posted the original project as well.

However, I do have a comment about the finish that you used. You stated that you used Polyurethane as the top finish but you have a picture of a can of Minwax Polycrylic. They are two different products. Polyurethane can be used indoors or outdoors and can yellow over time from UV exposure (although they now have some formulas that reduce the yellowing). Polycrylic is used indoors and typically will not yellow. In the case of your project, yellowing over time might even enhance the “Old World” feel so if you used either one for an indoor project it would work fine. However, if you wanted to make one of these and hang it outdoors, then I would recommend using the Polyurethane if it is not protected from the elements.

You are correct. I did use Polycrylic and accidentally mis-stated that I used Polyurethane. I tend to interchange those two words incorrectly often. Thanks for pointing that out. I will make the edit changes. Thanks so much Steve!

Woah! I’m really loving the template/theme of
this blog. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times
it’s challenging to get that “perfect balance” between superb usability and visual appeal.
I must say you’ve done a amazing job with this. Also, the blog loads super fast for
me on Safari. Exceptional Blog!

Several standard features are there that come to you only in the initial telephone
system, you are able to find exactly what we needed without
having to house them in one place. The portability of business phone system checklist VoIP is admittedly in great demand.

Great items from you, man. I’ve keep in mind
your stuff previous to and you’re just too great. I really like what you
have got here, really like what you’re saying and the way
by which you say it. You make it entertaining and you continue to take care
of to stay it smart. I cant wait to learn far more from you.
That is really a tremendous website.

I have never used Mod Podge before, so I’m trying to read about it and it seems that some use it on top as a protective layer. Is that needed for this project or is it just used as a glue on the back side of the map? Thanks!

You can just use it on the bottom as a glue. I like to use the Matte finish Mod Podge and do a top protective layer as well…but it is unnecessary on this project. The matte finish is nice because it doesn’t have a glare on it like the gloss finish will.

hello there and thank you for your info – I have certainly picked up something new from
right here. I did however expertise a few technical
points using this web site, as I experienced to
reload the web site lots of times previous to I could get it to
load properly. I had been wondering if your hosting is OK?
Not that I’m complaining, but sluggish loading instances times will very frequently affect
your placement in google and could damage your high quality score if advertising
and marketing with Adwords. Anyway I’m adding this RSS to my
e-mail and could look out for a lot more of your
respective intriguing content. Make sure you update this again soon.

you’re in reality a good webmaster. The site loading pace is amazing.
It seems that you are doing any distinctive trick. In addition, The
contents are masterpiece. you’ve done a magnificent job in this subject!

Thanks , I’ve recently been searching for info approximately
this subject for ages and yours is the best I have discovered so far.
However, what in regards to the bottom line? Are you positive concerning the source?

What’s Going down i am new to this, I stumbled upon this I’ve found It absolutely helpful and it has aided me out loads.
I am hoping to contribute & aid different customers like
its helped me. Good job.

I love, love, love this! We recently moved to the coastal area of SC around Hilton Head Island. I was in West Marine with my husband and found a map of the coastal areas between Savannah GA, where my husband now works, and up to St. Helena, SC. It also includes Parris Island Marine Corps Training Depot which is where my son, whom we lost in active duty in 2012, went to bootcamp. I knew I wanted that map for my wall! Exploring HHI I came across a photo frame in one of the shops made from what appeared to be pallets, and my mind was tossing around ideas. Your layout was exactly where I wanted to go with this. I’m so excited and I have dismantled my free pallets and tea stained and burned my map. I just need to put it all together. Thank you so much for showing me the way! I’d just hug your neck if I could, this is a personal quest <3

I love this! We recently moved to the coastal area of SC around Hilton Head Island and I was in West Marinewith my husband and found a map of the coastal areas between Savannah GA, where my husband now works, and up to St. Helena, SC. It also includes Parris Island Marine Corps Training Depot which is where my son, whom we lost in active duty in 2012, went to bootcamp

certainly like your web-site however you need to check the spelling on quite a few of your posts.
Many of them are rife with spelling problems and I find it very bothersome to inform the truth then again I will definitely come back again.

May I simply just say what a relief to discover
someone that actually knows what they’re talking about on the web.
You definitely know how to bring a problem to light and make it important.
More people ought to look at this and understand this side of your story.

It’s surprising you’re not more popular given that you most certainly possess the gift.

This is awesome!! I saw that wood plank world map in a model home we looked at and I have been looking for it since! I have a small obsession with maps and globes. I found it on rodworks.com but it’s out of stock of course. Then I came across your page and I think yours looks way better!! I can’t wait to make my own :) thank you for the tutorial.

Good word of mouth is the best lead generation method. You
may have been enticed into the business by a slick solo ad
or article that said you could start seeing five figure incomes per month within your first 30
days. By focusing online marketing efforts to a specific demographic, a company may be
able to increase its chances of connecting to their site’s visitors.

Subscribe by Email

my home tour

Categories

Archives

Cricut Explore on Sale

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned in some of my posts
for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog.
Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe my readers will enjoy.
I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”